FEB 22, 2016

Conference Examines Energy in the Internet of Things: Consumer Trends, Business Models, and Incentives

Parks Associates hosts the seventh-annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumerthis week, February 22-24, 2016, at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Texas. Over 250 industry leaders from utilities, service providers, manufacturers, and technology companies will participate in panel discussions about the convergence of consumer energy ecosystems within the smart home, competition among energy management services, and the impact of direct participation in energy markets. Media are invited to attend.

“Nearly 20% of U.S. broadband households currently own a smart home product, with thermostats and lighting as the leading categories,” said Tom Kerber, Director of Home Controls and Energy Research, Parks Associates. “The Smart Energy Summit features in-depth discussion on current energy programs in the U.S. and new research on opportunities to leverage smart home devices in order to expand the role of energy in the IoT, including the importance of cost, control, convenience, and security/privacy in driving consumer adoption.“

“The residential sector is the primary driver of peak demand in ERCOT,” said Paul Wattles, Sr. Analyst, Market Design & Development, ERCOT. “As the Independent System Operator, ERCOT continues to have strong interest in enabling residential demand response to participate in our markets. Smart products can be the enabling technology.”

"The biggest barrier to consumer adoption is a lack of trust that the products and services that are launching today by vendors will be around in a year or two," said Wannie Park, VP of Utility Solutions, CEIVA Energy. "This is where companies like Nest and Tesla succeed as there is an inherent trust that they will be around and that they will drive increased delightfulness with the product. But a lot of other products and services are still in the early stages, and system aggregators on the residential side have to weed through all the different standards and communication technologies and reconcile the different passionate agendas of companies backing those different standards. Smart Energy Summit provides an excellent venue to accomplish these goals."

"Staying ahead of new IoT entrants and ensuring wide connectivity are difficult in this expanding market," said Yann Kulp, Vice President SmartSpace, Schneider Electric North America. "The proliferation of technologies, protocols, and start-ups is huge. And many of them will have a huge impact on energy. But technology and cost are no longer the roadblock; it's now about value props and providing a great experience to the consumer."

"Consumers have a tendency to solve problems in 'real time,' especially when it comes to new DIY product purchases," said Landon Borders, Director of Connected Devices, Haiku Home. "The harder it is for them to understand or realize the value in making an investment, the less likely they are to pull the trigger. Many energy-related products and services provide value over months or years, but consumers want gratification now. It’s our responsibility to help them actively think about comfort and the insufficient offerings—like the traditional noisy, wobbling fan—that they’ve accepted as the norm. We aim to shift that paradigm every single day."

Smart Energy Summit features keynotes from NRG, EnergyHub, and Schneider Electric and multiple sessions focusing on opportunities to expand consumer engagement with energy efficiency in the home.

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer examines the changing role of utilities and energy providers in the IoT era and offers research and insights on new opportunities to empower consumers with smart solutions to manage and save energy in the home. The conference addresses key questions for energy providers around leadership and alignment of goals between residential energy management solutions and the grid and presents strategies to expand business and revenue goals by incorporating smart products into energy programs.

Smart Energy Summit focuses on identifying opportunities across converging ecosystems to create new value in energy solutions through partnerships that leverage connected devices, energy management, utility services, and home control platforms and services. Research analysts, thought leaders, and industry executives present and discuss business strategies, case studies, partnership opportunities, and consumer research that utilities, service providers, retailers, and manufacturers can use to expand and monetize their energy offerings.

The tenth-annual Smart Energy Summit will take place February 18-20, 2019, at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Texas. The summit agenda features leaders from utilities, state and national regulators, telecom and security companies, retailers, and OEMs. Follow the event on Twitter at @SmartEnergySmt and #SmartEnergy19. For information on speaking, sponsoring, or attending Smart Energy Summit, visit www.ses2019.com.